I Caught Fire
by MoonWolf113
Summary: s6 Jess and Rory are reunited, this time for Lorelai and Luke's wedding! The more they see of each other, the more they feel that farmiliar sensation..
1. Greetings

Jess Mariano drummed his fingers on the side on the car, sighing as he glanced over at his uncle. His dark brown hair was styled messily in a way only Jess could; the only way he liked it. Attire consited of torn, faded jeans, and a rather attractive emerald green shirt. He growled something under his breath, taking a quick glance out the window, before snapping his gaze back to his uncle.

" Will you tell me where the hell we're going?" He hissed, eyes narrowing slightly.

" Nope." Luke Danes snapped from beside the teen, a rather triumpant smirk curling upon his features.

Brow furrowed in confusion, Jess sitting straighter as they drove into Star's Hollow. Jess looked up expectantly at his uncle, brow raising.

" Well...?"

" Well what?"

" What are we doing _here_?"

Luke parked beside his diner, glancing over at his nephew with a slightly embarressed expression.

" Erm...I brought you're here for a specific reason."

" ..And that is?"

" ..I need you to be the best man. In my…wedding."

Jess looked over at his uncle, brow raised suspiciously.

" You're getting married." He repeated slowly, propping his head on his hand, and staring out the window.

" And who is this unluckly woman?" Jess said sarcastically, with a smirk.

" Shut up."

" Well, who is it?"

"...Lorelai."

His brow instantly shot up. There was a long silence. Then Jess finally spoke, letting the words slowly slip off his tongue.

" …Lorelai? As in...Lorelai Gilmore?"  
Silence.

" …Yes."  
" That means…Rory's going to be there. ...Right?" Jess spoke her name softly, as if cherishing the word.

Luke didn't respond for a moment. " I think we should get out of the car now."

" You never answered my question."

" Come on." Luke pushed open his door, Jess trailing behind him. He opened his mouth to pose another question, just as Lorelai came up behind them.

" Luke!" She squealed, wrapping her arms around him, and kissing his cheek softly. Her eyes shot to Jess, pursing her lips at the sight of the familiar teen infront of her. " Jess?" A confused expression came over her face, which quickly changed to a rather angry look. " What the _hell_ are you doing here?" She hissed, eyes narrowing slightly. "Here to break some more hearts?"  
Jess narrowed his eyes. For a moment he was speechless, not knowing how to respond to the last part of her greeting. " Erm…" He paused, then smirked. " I'm glad my Uncle Luke told you the good news! I'm his best-"

" Best nephew!" Luke interjected quickly, giving a fake grin. " He's great.."

Lorelai raised a brow. " That explains…a lot." She muttered, tapping her foot slightly. " So, why is he _really_ here."  
Luke opened his mouth to speak, then quickly shut it with a sigh.  
" Jess is…my best man." He muttered under his breath.

" Excuse me?"

" Jess in my best man."

" Still can't hear you.."  
" Dammit, Lorelai! Jess is my best man!"

" ..For our wedding?"  
Luke closed his eyes in frustration, lacing his fingers together, and sighing.

" Now, who else's wedding do you think he would be in, hmm?" He snapped, adjusting the blue baseball cap on his head.

Lorelai sighed.  
" Why the hell did you want _him_ to be your best man?"

" 'Cause I'm the best." Jess broke into their argument, smirking. " That's what Luke said, right?"

Just then, the sound of padding footsteps was heard behind them.

" Mom! Luke!" Rory came running to them, waving her hand with a broad grin. As she approached them, she messed with her plain blue t-shirt, straightened ot her jeans, before giving her mother a tight hug.

" Whoa, kid. What's with all this?"

" All what?"

" The beautiful clothes your wearing."

Rory rolled her eyes. " You told me to wear something simple, so I did."

" Wait, wait. I get no hello?"

Rory inhaled sharply, closing her eyes tightly, listening to the voice that echoed around in her head. The voice of the one that she so longed to forget, the one who's voice haunted her ever moment.

_Jess_.

- 15 minutes later-

" Rory?"

She felt arms grip around her waist.

" J-jess?"

" No, hun. It's me."

" Mom, is Jess…here?"

" You kind of…blacked out, kid."

" Erm..I blacked out?"

" Fainted. Yeah."

" Oh…"

Rory blinked open her eyes, seeing Luke and Lorelai hovering over her.

" Where…where's Jess?"  
" Why do you even care where he is?" Lorelai replied bitterly, scrunching up her face in disgust.

" …Well, do you know where he is?" Rory asked against, propping herself up against the pillows.

" He's at Luke's." Lorelai replied, rolling here eyes slightly.

" Okay…thanks." Rory quickly got up, running her hands through her hair, and patting down her clothes. She quickly ran through the front door, looping around the corner, and running until she got to Luke's. She paused, panting lightly, before glancing through the window.

She felt her insides tighten, as she saw the boy inside staring at her. She bit her lip, and closed her eyes tightly as she blindly made her way into the empty diner.

" Rory?" She felt his arms strap around her waist, his hot breath beating down on her neck.

" J-Jess…Stop." She whispered, a shudder slinking down her back. He gently stroked her hair, kissing a trail up her neck.

" Jess, stop!" She exclaimed, pulling herself away, blushing profusely. She glared over at him.

" W-why did you have to come back?" She whispered, biting her bottom lip to keep from crying. " You've caused me enough pain already."

He shuffled his feet slightly, brushing the dirt from his faded jeans.

" I… I wasn't the one that wanted to come here in the first place-"

" So you didn't want to see me?"  
" N-no, that's not what I meant..."  
" Then what _do_ you mean?"

" Dammit, Rory, I'm sorry!"

"...For what?"

" Everything! For walking out on you all those times, causing you all the pain I've caused…I'm sorry, Rory. I'm just…sorry."

She paused, looking away, and allowing the tears to fall gently from her bright blue eyes.

" How can I really believe that?" She spat bitterly. " You say you're sorry, every time, over and over. But you don't change. It's meaningless, Jess." She paused, not daring to look up. " You're just a painful memory to me now."

She began to cry harder, shaking to no end.

" Rory, don't cry…" He whispered, trying to grasp her in his arms, but she just pulled away. " I don't need you anymore, Jess. I hate you." She whimpered, throwing herself out the door, and running in the direction of her house. His gaze followed after her, as he sighed.

" She hates me. Great job, Mariano, you've done it again."


	2. Hope

A/n: I can't thank everybody who left reviews! They really cheer me up, and really encourge me to write more. So, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. I /have/ changed this chapter, and Chapter Three will be different from my previous attempt at this story.

Rating: Bordering on high T- some light fluff ahead.

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Jess sighed, propping his head up from the soft pillow below. The way that she enticed him, he didn't know. The soft look in her eyes, the tender touch of her lips against his.

He shivered. ' _Why am I even thinking about her? She's probably with some other guy, right?' _He sighed, flicking on the lights, and glancing beside him. Luke wasn't there; he probably went to see Lorlelai. He glanced over at the clock-- 5:00AM. He sighed again; he should get up and get the diner ready.

He quickly got up, slamming a fist down on his alarm, to stop the persistent ringing before it started. He stripped off his nightclothes, slipping on a plain yellow T-shirt, and dragging on his rugged blue jeans.

'_ I'm hope she's not with any other guy._' He paused. '_ I'm being fucking selfish. Get her out of your head, Mariano._'

He pushed aside the curtain, filing out into the empty diner. Or he thought it was empty. He glanced up, and felt his insides turn. There she was, fast asleep on the table.

_Rory._

He slipp ed beside her, allowing his finger to trail over the exposed skin of her neck. He stroked his hand softly over her cheek, leaning forward to place a gentle kiss against her lips. To his surprise, her arms lifted, hooking around his waist, as she began to kiss him back.

'_This can't be happening_' He thought to himself, lips still plastered against hers. They pulled away, eyes downcast, breathing heavily.

" Rory.."

She didn't respond, she just glanced up to meet his gaze. She took his hand in hers, and stood up to place a soft kiss against his cheek. She then fled out the door, Jess' eyes trailing after her.

He sighed, propping his elbows on the table, allowing his head to fall against his hand. He felt the strong desire of sleep pull him, and with a long sigh, he slowly drifted into sleep.

--2 hours later--

" Jess!"

" No, Kirk."

" But you said I could have pineapples with my toast!"

" I did not. That's gross."

" But healthy."

" But all around disgusting."

" Please, Jess?"

" No."

" Pleeeaaaase?"

" Fine. Here." Jess growled, slapping a plate in front of the whining Kirk, and backing away with disgust. The door opened, allowing a warm breeze to wash over him. There she was, walking beside her mother, blue eyes twinkling, a gentle smile against her face. Then she looked at him. Her face dropped, her blue eyes froze. She tore her gaze away, sitting beside her mother.

" Jeeesss!" Lorelai called from her table, a grin slipping onto her features. Jess rolled his eyes, sighed, and trudged over to their table.

He gazed over at Rory, as he dug a hand into his pocket, flipping out a pencil and pad of paper.

" What do you want?" He asked, eyes still locked against the girl's turned head.

" Ooh, me first!"

" Fine, Lorelai. You first."

" Yay! I want eggs. No, pancakes. And coffee. Lots n' lots of coffee. And…"

Jess tuned our Lorelai's persistant rambling about breakfast, to coffee, then on and on to Lord-Knows-What.

He looked over at Rory, who's head was still turned to stare out the window.

" Excuse us, Lorelai." Jess reached over, and grabbed Rory's arm, dragging her more roughly than he intended, pushing aside the curtain with one hand, and opening the door to the apartment with his foot.

" Rory, listen." He turned around, pressing her gently against the wall. A slight smirk turned on his lips, as he leaned his head close to hers. " I love you, Rory. I'm sorry…I mean it." He sighed, tilting his head back, and releasing a sot sigh. " It's…hard for me to say that, even if it sounds selfish. It's hard for me to apologize to you, Rory. I.." He paused, to glance over at her. The words choked in his throat, causing a strangled noise to rouse from his throat.

She was _crying_.

" Don't…cry." He pressed his lips softly against her forehead, pressing her head forward so that it was resting against the crook of his neck.

After minutes of choking sobs, Rory lifted her head to face him, her eyes puffy and red, her lips trembling from the force of crying. Her mouth curved to a slight smile, her head tilting closer to his.

" You…love me?"

" Damn right I do."

She couldn't stop the slow laugh that was released from her lips, her smile growing wider.

" I love you. …Too."

Jess smirked with a rather triumphant air, pressing her back against the wall, and slipping his arms around her slender waist. Eyes closed for a brief moment, lips plastering together, there longing for each other leading to them trying to devour each others lips. She felt his hands slip beneath the back of her shirt, sliding his hands over her spine, and rousing goosebumps onto her skin. 'Damn, he's a good kisser.' Rory thought to herself, then releasing they were still in Luke's apartment. Luke, or her mother for that matter, were bound to check in on them eventually.

She tried to weasel out of his grasp, but he clung to her tightly, pulling away only so that his lips weren't smashed against hers.

" What?"

" Dammit, Jess. Don't do that. Not…here."

" Then where? And hurry up with that answer."  
" I don't know," She paused, pulling herself away from him, and sending a backwards glance at the door. " Just not here. I'll see you later, alright?" With a soft peck on his lips, she fled out the door, leaving Jess standing there, face drawn in a rather cofused expression.

With a long sigh that mingeled around him for the next two minutes, he brushed his hand through his dark hair, and wrinkeled his nose in slight disgust. He then chuckled lightly, wandering to his bed, and falling against it. He allowed his eyelids to gently close over his brown-colored eyes. This wasn't a dream, was it? He almost expected to open his eyes, and find that Rory still hated his guts. It couldn't be a dream. It was just to…real.

He wanted her. He felt the thundering desire pounding in his chest, never ceasing to make him cringe at the pure sight of her.

He _needed_ her. He felt her, so cloe, her breathing so near. He blinked open his eyes, just to see her hovering above him.

" Rory?"

" Shut up. It's 4 in the morning. You've been lying there for hours."

" And…why are you here?"

" We're alone. It's just you and me now."


End file.
